The US Senate today confirmed by a large majority Isabel Guzman the new director of the Small Business Administration (SBA), making her the first Latina woman to be appointed to a ministerial position in the government of President, Democrat Joe Biden.
Guzmán will be responsible for helping the country’s small and medium-sized businesses overcome the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.
By a vote of 81 in favor and 17 against, the Senate approved the appointment of Guzmán, 51, of Mexican descent, who became the first Latino woman to form part of the Cabinet, the fifth of Hispanic descent. From that place in the history of the United States.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck said: “I am confident that, under Guzmán’s leadership, the Small Business Association will help small business owners hold onto their dreams so that our economy will vibrate again” after the pandemic.
Graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business, Guzman served as executive director of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness during the administration of former President Barack Obama (2009-2017), and her career is entirely dedicated to supporting the interests of small businesses, and advising entrepreneurs. Develop policies and programs to help foster innovation.
Since 2019, she has held the position of Small Business Ombudsman Office Manager in California, her hometown.
From the SBA, Guzmán will oversee the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), which Congress created last year and raised more than $ 687,000 million to help companies keep paying their employees during the pandemic.
During the February confirmation hearing, Guzmán pledged to work from his new position for the benefit of all small business owners in the country, “including the most disadvantaged, those who have faced historic barriers to launching and growing their business” such as Latinos or blacks.
He stressed during the session that “its success is equivalent to the success of our country.”
Biden’s nomination in January was well received by businessmen and Hispanic groups across the country as the largest Latin civil rights organization, UnidosUS, which welcomed the green light from the Senate.
“The Guzmán affirmation is urgently needed to help provide an equitable path to recovery for our communities, including small businesses and their critical role in the economy,” UnidosUS President Janet Morgoya said in a statement.
Morgoya recalls that Latinos “are creating businesses twice as fast as any other ethnic group, and Hispanic firms employ nearly three million workers.”
Biden has already appointed three Latins in his cabinet: Alejandro Mayorcas as Minister of Homeland Security, Miguel Cardona as Minister of Education, and Xavier Becera as Minister of Health, and he is still awaiting confirmation in the Senate.
(Telam)
